For many types of communication signals or power supply, it is useful to provide a raceway so that connections can be made to the communication signal or power supply at any desired location along a continuum. By way of example is the present co-inventors U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,937 issued Oct. 1, 1991 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,406 issued Feb. 2, 1993, both entitled "Baseboard with Movable Electrical Outlet" which disclose a baseboard having a continuous raceway in which an electrical outlet, cable TV outlet, telephone jack or the like can be selectively positioned at any point on the raceway for connecting a telephone, TV or electrical appliance. Increasingly, communications signals are being transmitted by fiber optic cable. Data and voice signals are transmitted by fiber optic cable in telephone systems and computer networks utilize optical fiber connections. However useful means are not available to permit a raceway arrangement for optically transmitted signals which would allow flexible access to such signals.
Various arrangements are available to tap into a fiber optic cable, but these involve connections at a fixed location where the cladding on the cable has been removed and the cable bent to permit light to escape. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,585 Uken issued May 3, 1988. Such arrangements do not permit access to the signal at a randomly selected location along a continuum. There is therefore a need for a continuous optical access system.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a raceway-like system for permitting access to an optical signal at a selected locations along a continuum.